The Second Wish

Tea, tea, teakettle♪

Hehe♪ You can't really prepare the best tea in a kettle without white charcoal!

Coming to this continent always reminds me of it!

White charcoal? What's that?

Haven't you heard of it, Lord Aldo?

It's a one-of-a-kind high-quality charcoal invented by an ancient Eastern craftsman somewhere in the Land of Mi.

As a kettle spirit, I'm quite picky about charcoal.

Wow! You sure do seem to know a lot about it.

So I'm assuming that this isn't your first time coming to this continent?

Correct! Actually what I mean is... I'm from this country!

I didn't know that! No wonder you dress like the people in this country.

You're sharp, Lord Aldo. I think these clothes match me well. But the town has changed so much it doesn't feel much like home anymore.

Is that right? So how long ago are we talking about?

Well now that I think about it... It must be just about a thousands years ago.

A thousand years?! Then again, you did say it had been 300 years since you had visited Unigan. No wonder the town's changed so much.

By the way, it's about time that I started thinking about my second wish.

A-Already? You can take time, just so you know.

Yeah, but the longer I wait, the more it feels like I have unfinished business.

......

Tch! Looks like I made a big mistake by pushing him in Unigan!

Did you say something?

Nope! You're just imagining things!

Hey Myunfa... It's really difficult coming up with something to wish for... So could you tell me something else you want that I can wish for?

Other than being released from the kettle, what else could you want?

Umm...so about that... The wish I want granted right now is... That no more wishes will be granted anytime soon.

What's that supposed to mean?

The thing is, if Lord Aldo's wishes are granted... We'd no longer be master and kettle spirit!

Huh? Isn't that what you wanted all along? You wanted to be freed from the kettle...

You can't understand, Lord Aldo. You just can't!

Huh? Why are you mad at me?

Hmph... If you want to wish for something so badly, why not just wish the same things as everyone.

Wish for the same things? But then I'd be just like that nobleman in Unigan, isn't that right? What else do people wish for?

Let's see... For example, some people ask me to raise the dead.

Raising the dead?! Are you able to do that?

It's easy if it was a recent death. I could raise them roughly within a year of their death.

That's pretty cool...

Hey, you two! Are you telling the truth?!

I have a request! My boyfriend passed away six months ago... Could you bring him back to life!

Oh. Umm... I have no problem with that.

Really?! Oh, thank you!

Hold up a second! I don't know even know whether it's possible...

What'dya you say, Myunfa?

Grrr! There you go again trying to please everyone...

Lord Aldo, if you wish for it from the bottom of your heart, it may be granted!

That's right! That's what you said...

In order to bring him back, the wish must come from the bottom of my heart.

From the bottom of your heart?

Yeah. But the problem is that I don't know anything about him. It's hard for me to honestly wish a stranger back to life. So why don't you tell me about him and maybe your relationship? It might help.

Alright then... It might be best to talk about this in the Kunlun Mountains. That's where he died...

That works for us. Let's make our way to the Kunlun Mountains!

This place... It's the place where...

Something wrong, Myunfa?

Hyaaaa!

I didn't mean to scare you...

H-H-How dare you! Lord Aldo shouldn't sneak up on me and stare at my face like that! It's very inappropriate!

You don't have to say it like that...

Ugh! Sorry about that... You scared me there and I said too much.

Well let's keep going. She's waiting for us.

Is this...where your boyfriend died?

Yes... He told me to come here that day saying he had something important to tell me. It was our first year anniversary that day...

What was he going to tell me? Was he going to propose to me? I came here full of excitement, but...when I arrived...

Aaah!

Hang in there! What happened?!

They got me... The specters...

What?!

I... I'm not going to make it. These injuries... It's too late...

Stop it! Don't say that!

Listen... I want you to live happily... Forget about me... Find someone else... And live a happy life...

......

No, you can't, ! *sob*

I'm... I'm sorry to hear that.

I still remember him all the time... And I can't stop crying...

......

I... I want to bring him back for you. But Myunfa asked me not to wish for anything though...

That's not it at all! I'm more than willing to grant this wish. I understand your feelings of bringing someone back all too well...

It's not a desire... It's a genuine wish.

I'm glad to hear that, Myunfa. Well, that'll be my second wish. I wish to bring this girl's boyfriend back to life!

Lord Aldo's second wish shall be granted!

Ahh!

Why... Why won't he come back to life?!

Did I do something wrong? Maybe I didn't wish deep enough from the bottom of my heart?

You would be wrong! The wish has been voided!

The wish was voided? Was it because we took too long to make the wish or something like that?

Time is not the problem here. Otherwise the physical body only would have returned. His body would return lifeless... Like an empty doll.

(Th-That's a scary thought.)

Umm... Then why couldn't we bring him back to life?

The reason the wish was voided was because...

He's not dead! The wish was voided because we were trying to bring a living person back to life!

What?!

That's impossible! I saw him take his last breath with my own eyes!

Something must be behind this all. It could've been an illusion or his body could've been fake...

Well then! Where is he?!

That, I don't know.

Hey Myunfa. Since my wish was voided, doesn't that mean it didn't count?

You are correct, Lord Aldo.

Then, how about I just wish to summon him here?

Hmmmmmm! You want to summon him here?

I don't think I can recommend that... Since we don't know what state he is in, I might break the rules trying to grant that wish.

Then what can I do? Should I just give up?!

No... Don't you worry. We've come with you this far already. I'm sure we can figure out a way to make this all work out.

Really?! Thank you so much.

...... Lord Aldo. You're doing so much to help her...

But don't forget for one instant that she already has a boyfriend!

Of course, why would I forget? We're going through all this to help her find her boyfriend.

Grrrrrr!

...?

Anyway... all we know now is that specters are responsible.

You're right... He definitely said that it was the specters.

Then it might be a good idea to check out the Specter Palace. We may find a clue there.

Hey Myunfa. What if I use my second wish to get more information about her boyfriend?

I can't say that's a good idea either. When a wish asks for something not specific, the results might not be useful. But still the wish would count against your total.

Then how about trying to get his exact location?

That could work... But what if he were somewhere that we couldn't reach? We wouldn't be able to see him and you will have used your second wish...

I see... And we have to save my third wish for you.

Oh?

Aww♪ You didn't forget about that!

Well of course I didn't forget.

Hmm... Having any wish granted sounds great in theory, but it's not as easy as it sounds...

Not exactly... Normally things don't get this complicated. Your wish is rather unique, Lord Aldo. Most people just make wishes for themselves. Most wishes in my experience are more or less the same!

I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all this... I-I just really want to see him again...

Don't worry about it. I'm used to this kind of thing.

Thank you...

Lord Aldo, you ladies-man you!

Myunfa? Why are you hiding away in your kettle again? What the heck are you doing?

Nothing! I'm fine! Nothing's wrong!

......

Foolish humans! What brings you to specter territory?

You... You're a specter?!

Hmph! Darn right I am. You never seen a specter before?

We're here looking for a man who was attacked by specters in Kunlun Mountains about six months ago.

Six months ago, you say?

Y-Yes! The man meant the world to me. Tell me if you know anything...

Y-You... Why did you come here?

Do you know me?

I do... You're the girl of a man I attacked six months ago.

What?!

That man died that day. I was hiding nearby, enjoying the show.

What did you say?!

Muhahah! Why act so surprised? Nothing's more entertaining for us specters than the suffering of humans!

You monster!

Humans... It's time you went home! Leave or we will not spare your lives! Muhahahah!

Darn him! Could he really be telling the truth?

Absolutely not! That couldn't be the truth! We know for certain that the man is alive! Either the specter's lying, or he thinks the man is dead.

Either way, he knows more than he's letting on.

Tracking him down sounds like our best option. Let's head into the Specter Palace.

You foolish little humans!

You've ignored my warnings and followed me inside here.

I'll give you one last warning! Go now and I'll let you leave with your lives!

We're not giving up that easily!

What are you saying?!

You know something about the man that died in the Kunlun Mountains, don't you?

Grrr! You annoying insects! That man is dead! That's all I know!

Judging from his answer, I get the feeling he's not telling us everything.

I get that feeling, too. Why would he lie?

Shut up, all of you!

Prepare yourselves, humans! I'll show you no mercy! Your lives end here!

Guh! Impossible... Humans can't be this strong...

Listen to us. We didn't come here to fight you. All we want is you to tell us about the man in the Kunlun Mountains.

I know nothing about it!

That's a problem...

I was just thinking but... What if I wished for this specter to tell us the truth?

Hmm... Okay. That's a good idea. That wish can probably be granted.

But are you sure you want to use your valuable wish on something like that...

It's no problem. I made my decision to use my wish to help this girl.

Hold up on that wish!

......

Hey, he's dangerous! Get away from him!

......

Hmph?!

It's you, isn't it? Now I know... You can't lie to me.

......

What's going on here?

I don't understand it either!

......

There's nothing left to say but the truth then... I'm the man who used to be her boyfriend. At least I was...

Are you human or specter?

You just saw it. I'm really a specter. I disguised myself as a human to investigate Nagsham. That was my assignment.

Is that right? And that's when you met your girlfriend, right?

Yes. Getting closer to her was the perfect plan to understanding human society better...

......

Then why did you fake your own death?

My mission was deemed over and I was ordered to return. I did it so that she could completely forget about me.

So you were lying to me all along! Do you have any idea how much pain you caused me?!

I'm sorry...

No! There's no way I can forgive what you did! Just...tell me the truth!

The truth?

Your true feelings! When you were with me as a human... Did you have any feelings for me whatsoever?

Because... I felt what we had was real... I knew something was there!

......

At the start, I was just doing my job. But then I...

I realized that I had fallen in love with you.

......

But... You're a human, and I'm a specter. I knew you'd hate me if you find out what I really was. That's why I...

......

I-I... I cried day and night after I saw you that day... Compared to that, learning that you were a specter would've been easy.

Huh?!

You know... You don't look so bad in your specter form...

Well, it looks like the problem is solved. Now can we get out of here? Let's head to Nagsham before we run into another problem.

So what are you two going to do now?

We've decided to leave Nagsham.

The relations between humans and specters is better in the southern part of the continent. That's where we're thinking of going.

Is that right? Well I wish you the best of luck. I hope you two live happy lives together.

Thank you! None of this could've happened without you!

Don't mention it! It's all what Aldo wanted!

Take care! If something else comes up, come let us know!

After all that... I still didn't use a wish.

That's fine with me. My wish is that you don't make any wishes for a little while longer!

That's what you said, but you seemed eager to grant that girl's wish.

Well...about that... It's because I too once tried to bring some important people back to life. I wished to bring back villagers who died in a terrible avalanche.

Incredible! My little brother came back to life just like you said! Okay, here's my second wish! Bring the villagers back to life just like my little brother!

Oh no!

...... If that's how it is...

Make me a kettle spirit! That's my wish!

Wait wait wait! You used to be human?!

Correct... My wish was granted and I became a kettle spirit.

But why did you do that?

Because... I could think of no other way to bring back the villagers. My second wish made me a kettle spirit, and my first master was my little brother. I had him wish to bring the villagers back to life, and the wish was granted.

But there were too many villagers to wish back, weren't there?

That's why after granting his three wishes, I had one of the revived villagers become my master.

So that's how you were able to save everyone!

That was an incredibly clever way to help the villagers. That must all have thanked you for saving them.

The thing is... None of them know who I am now.

Huh?! Why's that?

The moment I became a kettle spirit, I was no longer human. I don't understand how it works, but it seems that the human that was Myunfa disappeared completely. My little brother... Mom... Dad... They all forgot about me.

That's unbelievable...

Kettle spirits and humans may look similar, but... I guess there is still a huge difference. That's why if Lord Aldo uses his third wish to make me human again... You'll likely forget all about me...

No wonder you didn't want me to make a wish.

......

Then I have a second wish for you!

Huh?!

My second wish is that from here on, no matter what happens, I'll never forget about you, Myunfa!

A-Are you sure about this, Lord Aldo?!

Of course.

But Lord Aldo, you still haven't used any wishes for yourself... That's very unsettling for a kettle spirit like me.

No, Myunfa. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for myself.

......

Because I don't want to forget about you. Even after you become human again, I want us to be friends. So please grant this wish.

......

That means a lot to me, Lord Aldo!

Well then...

Lord Aldo's second wish shall be granted!

There, that should do. Your second wish should be granted.

Well then! It's time to make that final w...

W-Wait! I'm... I'm not sure if I'm ready for this!

I suppose it's a big moment...

Tell me when you're ready then.

I will! Please make the wish when I'm prepared, Lord Aldo!